Beyond the Sunset
by NekoHanyouSakura5
Summary: Ponyboy walked the streets of Tulsa reflecting on the events that effected his, and other peoples lives. **This is a OneShot FF I wrote for my English Summative. enjoy!**


**// AN: Hey guys. This is an Epilogue I wrote for part of my grade 11 English project. Enjoy :) //**

I never quite stopped receiving the looks other students gave me in the halls, or if someone recognized me on the streets. They looked at me, not only as a greaser, but as someone involved in one of the town's most tragic event. The death of two teens. Bob Sheldon, a rich soc from the East side, and Johnny Cade a poor kid from the West Side, one of my buddies. I was just another hoodlum to people who didn't know me. It didn't make a difference who I was, what marks I got in school, or if I ever went on after high school. I was just a greaser to them.

That's the way Dallas Winston died that same night as Johnny did. No one recognized him as a hero even though he yanked me out of that burning church and had my back at the rumble. No one knew the life he lived out in New York, or the relationship he had with his parents, or the bond he shared with Johnny. He was just one of those Juvenile Delinquents that few people cared about. They avoided. Maybe if more people cared Dally would still be alive now. Perhaps Dallas wouldn't have gone to jail so often, and maybe he wouldn't have wanted to take his life that night. I decided one this a few weeks after I recovered, I believe Dallas wanted to die and follow Johnny. Not even the rest of us could stop him from pulling out that blasted heater and pointing it at the fuzz that night. Dally wasn't as tough as he ranted about, he had his breaking point. He has his weaknesses, and when the going got tough Dally got going.

My hands were jammed in the pockets of my navy sweater. Soda used to wear it not too long ago. Sometimes it is hard for us to afford new clothes for me to wear all of the time. I don't mind none though. I don't like seeing Darry work too much carrying those bundles of roofing all of the time. I shuffled around uneasily as a car drove by. I couldn't tell if it was a soc car or not. Most of them have stopped hollering at us on the streets since Johnny killed Bob. Sometimes I'd like to think that Randy or Cherry had something to do with it. They were nice socs; they got to know me a little and learned that we are no different. That's just the way things are though. Everyone is prejudice; they look down on one another with disdain and disgust. It's not so bad anymore around here, but there are still enough socs around that are willing to get in a fight and try to jump smaller greasers like me if they're walking home alone.

"Well hey Ponyboy, I was drivin' by and saw you walkin' along? How's it go?" said a familiar female voice. I looked up from his view of the cement sidewalk and saw Cherry Valance sitting in her red Stingray.

'_Speak of the devil_' I thought to myself. I looked around at where I was now, mainly just to make sure I didn't accidentally wander into the Socs side of town. '_Apparently not._' I was near the park close to my home. The same park Bob died in that infamous night. Part of me wanted to continue walking along home, the other wanted to stay and chat with Cherry. I never quite got over all those times Cherry ignored me in the halls at school in front of her friends. I know she told me to not take offense to it, but I can't help it. After all that we've been involved in. "It goes okay Cherry. What'cha doin' on this side of town?" I asked curiously.

Cherry sighed lightly taking a long glance out at the park. The sun was just above the trees right now. I'd need to be home for dinner soon or Darry would kill me. "I just felt like a drive. I drove around, and then ended up seeing you on the street and well…" Cherry looked up my way and smiled. She always had a nice smile, "Now I'm here."

"It wouldn't have to do with the fact Johnny killed Bob here would it?" I asked. It didn't take my long to realize I probably shouldn't have asked that. I wasn't using my head. I still wasn't using my head of course. Next thing you know I was going to get jumped by a soc after I talk to Cherry and I'll get heck from Darry and the gang about walking home alone and not using my head. Glory could I be dumb. "I'm sorry for asking," I apologized, "Tell me Cherry. Do people around your side and in town look at you differently too?"

"You mean like…disgust?" Cherry asked raising a brow, confusing lighting up her face. I nodded. "Well yes…I don't know why really. Some maybe cause I helped out the East Side. Adults just because I was involved." Cherry looked at her hands. They were neatly placed on top of her legs. She was wearing a sweater too, underneath was a nice blouse and she was wearing one of those long skirts like she had wore at the Nightly Double the night we first spoke. "It's never going to end is it Ponyboy?"

I was a little shocked. I never really thought I'd hear that come from a soc. Of course I wasn't ignorant; I knew things were rough all over. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it was Cherry Valance. She wasn't prejudice of us greasers. She knew that some of us were nice, like me and Sodapop for example. Where as there are bad greasers like the Sheppard's Gang. The only thing that bugged me about Cherry was that she was ashamed. Ashamed of being one of the few that wasn't prejudice and that could talk to somebody like me like I was a human. I guess even if she wasn't prejudice, being ashamed was still bad enough. You might as well be prejudice.

"Some people aren't meant to change. Like the Sheppard's Outfit. They won't ever stop fighting. Dally wouldn't have either. He would have gone on fighting forever until he couldn't anymore," I explained. I kicked the toe of my shoe against the gravel road below me. "Dally ranted on the night he died about how Johnny should have been tough. That if he was tough like Dall' was then he wouldn't have gotten hurt or have run into that church to save them kids like we did. I tried getting tough like Dally explained after they died. You know something Cherry?" I looked up at her green eyes to see if she was following. Her red hair catching the breeze that just swept through the area, "It didn't work too well. Glory I couldn't be like Dally. People like me aren't meant to be mean or to fight, where as people like Dally just are."

"Well Ponyboy I wish there were more people in this town like you," Cherry said softly. My ears burned, I could feel them. Luckily enough my hair was growing and it covered my ears again. Although I thought I looked awfully funny cause that blonde was growing out of my hair. "How are your brothers doing? What about Steve and Two-bit?"

"They're doing fine. Everybody took things in their own way." I explained, "Darry kind of ignored it for a while, he felt he had top be the strong one while Soda or I were upset. See Soda had been awfully depressed because his girlfriend left and went to live in Florida. She was carrying the baby of another man, but Sodapop didn't care. He wanted to marry Sandy anyway, but she got up and left." Sodapop was sad for a long time. I think back and wish I could have realized what had been going on sooner instead of being so self-centered. I sure clued in when Soda ran off that night at dinner. As for Darry, he eventually broke when he felt it was right. All along Soda and I knew he was really upset.

"That's terrible. I hope he is doing okay." Cherry said. She had a frown over her face, "And what of Two-bit and Steve?"

"Two-bit is still Two-bit. He and Steve both wanted revenge for a while, but there was no one to fight. Two-bit drank more then he normally did and almost died from alcohol poisoning, and Steve almost got arrested for causing havoc in town." I explained. I thought about this for a moment. It was the point where two of the gang that really enjoyed fighting really saw there being no need to fight. They had fought in the rumble for Johnny and for reign over our territory, but for Dallas there was no one to fight. They couldn't get revenge over Dally.

"I'm glad you all are okay. Things really are rough all over. I had to go to sessions to talk about what happened. My parents made me. And Randy has been doing drugs lately…" Cherry trailed off looking out at the sun behind the trees. You could see it perfectly sitting on the horizon between two trees. "Maybe if everyone started caring a little more we'd be somewhere right now."

"Yeah maybe," I said. I looked down the street to where my home was. I knew I had to get going for dinner. I smiled seeing the sunset. "If we can both see the sunset well, I'm sure lots others can too"

Cherry smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I'm sure others can too." Cherry sat back down in her car and waved at me as I went to the other side of her car, "See you around, Ponyboy."

"See ya Cherry." I stopped and looked back around over my shoulder, "Remember to tell people to look at the sunset, I don't think some people have really ever seen one before." '_We all see the same sun. So none of us are truly different._ I thought to myself.

I started back to my house, I heard Cherry's car start down the road back to the East side of town. I pulled out a letter from my pocket and eyes focused in on one of the lines that Johnny had wrote, _I want you to ask Dally to look at one, I don't think he's ever seen a sunset._ Maybe even people like ol'Dally could have seen the sunset like everyone else if just a little more people had cared.


End file.
